Women set the stage, men act

Alexander 2022-07-09 22:18:23

Fassbender's trilogy of women, women are but form. In addition to "Marriage of Maria Braun", which focuses on shaping women, the other two "LOLA" and "The Desire of Veronica Foss" have very obvious creative intentions: to show all sentient beings in post-war German society around women.

The female elements of the three films have little depth, and they are all stereotypes-a soulful woman who has fallen into the dust, but is loyal to a great love; a decent and elegant high-society person falls in love with a prostitute, and the prostitute will eventually be good; The past actress struggles with the glorious memory of the past and the reality of the bankruptcy of drugs and alcohol.

But the director endowed the clichéd story with rich detail: political, sports broadcast background sound effects hinted at the urgent need to re-establish itself after the war in Germany; gorgeous camera, blue melancholy, yellow bright and tawdry pink, dark green, Shadows and harsh lights, a lot of interior shots that are either cramped, oppressive or bright, luxurious, and the slightly stylized lines and performances have a dramatic effect, all of which are marked with the director's own distinctive style label.

And through these details, a beautiful, sad, scheming and slightly innocent woman walks among all kinds of men. They once established their own kingdom and became the king of their own kingdom, but they are eventually rejected by society (men) Broken, lost in the so-called years.

Once again through this cliché story, the social context emerges. Not only involving post-war Germany, but by extension, the so-called system, system, power, and wealth operate in this way. Fascism, Fassbender said, was an underlying condition of middle-class life. Not only in Germany, as long as the distribution of power and wealth does not change, no matter how rich the country is, the majority of people suffer. Of course, it is not a call for improvement or reform. The distribution methods attempted by human beings include blood, authority, and desire (market), which are all problematic. Just as the little civil servant in the film said, "I'm not a revolutionary, I'm a humanitarian", but it is this humanitarian who works during the day and hangs out in the evenings at night. (Always reading in a brothel) Still soon.

Therefore, Fassbender's movie shots are gorgeous, but they are also very indifferent. When those men and women hide their thoughts and work on calculations, the love that occasionally sprouts in their hearts is both illusory and seems to be a rhetoric of desire, and it is very easy to become vulnerable. for trading. A game victory, a gas explosion, or a long-planned forced suicide can mask an individual's loss. There will always be the next game, there will always be beautiful young people.

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Extended Reading

Veronika Voss quotes

  • Veronika Voss: Farewells and arrivals are the nicest things in life.

  • Veronika Voss: Now I belong to you. All I have left to give you is my death.

    Dr. Marianne Katz: What was that?

    Veronika Voss: Nothing. Just a line from an old movie. From my old life.